Woodstar SD16 questions

topconker · 28 Jan 2012

Just bought a Woodstar SD16 scroll saw for £42 on flea bay as I want to have a go at making some simple gifts for people such as the cat and mouse pattern shown here a few threads ago.
I know the saw is at the cheap end of the market being about £95 new, but what reviews there are, it seems to do what I want to achieve.

I have a couple of questions that I hope you can help with:
1. What thickness of wood should I use, and should it be plywood? (basic question from a newbie).
2. Can I buy a replacement table insert for the saw as the one fitted has a couple of cuts in it from the blade.
3. What blades should I buy, it will take pinned and plain ones according to the instruction book.

Thanks for any help you can give.

TC

Chippygeoff · 28 Jan 2012

Hi TC.

You are right, you cannot get much cheaper than what you have got and as a result there will be little or anything you can get in the way of spares and i doubt very much if you can get any spare inserts. As to blades you are better off sticking to pin-less blades as there is a bigger choice and plain blades are essential if you intend doing any pierced work, in other words cutting out a pattern inside a piece of wood or ply. You can cut wood and plywood up to say 3/4 inch thick, anything above this you would struggle with. I would bolt the say down firmly to a bench if you can and to reduce vibration even further use a rubber mat as well. The best blades are Flying Dutchman from Mikes workshop in America or you can get the yellow label blades from Hobbies which are also good. Hope this helps.

Geoff.

topconker · 28 Jan 2012

Thanks Geoff,
Just looked at HGobbies site, a bit confused on the different tpi availble, is there a standard type I should use for what will be fairly simple straightfoward work?

TC

Wilder · 28 Jan 2012

Hi, I am an absolute beginner myself, and I am sure that others on the site can give you much more help than I can. However, I did get what I think is a brilliant book from Amazon called 'Scroll Saw for the First Time' by Dirk Boelman. It costs under £6 and comes with free delivery, and has a list of basic equipment, blade sizes, patterns and instructions. All very easy to read and understand.

Good luck with your saw.

Chris

Chippygeoff · 28 Jan 2012

Hi TC.

For the beginner blades can be confusing as you have found. Generally we buy blades by the number, such as a number 3 blade, number 7 blade but the TPI also play an important part as does the type of blade or to put it another way the way the teeth are formed on the blade. To make this simpler I generally use number 3, 5, and 7 blades and I tend to use what are called scroll reverse blades. A scroll reverse blade has 6 or 7 teeth on the bottom that cut on the up stroke and the remaining teeth cut on the down stroke. The great advantage of this type of blade is that it leaves a very smooth surface to the cut and very little fuzziness on the bottom so the minimum of sanding is required. In your shoes I would start off by using scroll reverse blades and if you bought number 5s and 7s you will find these two will do most things to begin with. The lower the number then finer the blade. You can get 1/0 and number 1 which are for very fine work. I use number 3s for work on thin birch ply and thin hardwoods. For thicker hardwoods up to 3/4 inch I use 5 and 7 blades and if the hardwood is very hard I cover the pattern in clear packing tape as this lubricates the blade and prevents burning. If you need any more help and advice come back, we all had to learn and there are many people on here who will gladly give you the benefit of their experience.

Geoff.